With a little help of grams
by AAB
Summary: Being in the proces of regaining their friendship a phonecall from his Grandmother makes a huge difference


_Disclaimer: Not mine, Bellisario's_

**With a little help of Grams  
**_Set shortly after 'Capital Crimes'  
_

She still blushed when she thought back to that moment. The moment Sturgis Turner had asked why she and Harm couldn't be civil towards each other. He had every right to ask; the tension between them affected the whole office to the point she expected an intervention from their CO any moment. She could recall every word of their conversation.  
"Have you slept with him?"  
"No," she had all but yelled  
"Is that the problem?"  
An even more forceful "No!" from her side.  
"Why can't you just get past it and move on?"  
"Wouldn't work."  
"Why?" Again a legitimate question.  
"Because I'm in _love_ with him!" That piece of information, buried deep inside her for so long and now suddenly revealed shocked them both into silence. Then she hastened herself to swear him into secrecy. He promised but she could see the little gears in his head turning. 

It was not before the JAG-athon he made his move. Set out as a friendly sponsor run it had turned out in a fierce competition between Harm and her. Like everything seemed to do nowadays. Both he and she had run to exhaustion, only to find themselves in a tie in the end. And to find Sturgis as the winner. Nobody had known he was such a good athlete. The hidden meaning of his 'wish' had not been wasted on her. Not only did they need to be a support team to Bud, the only man not having passed the finish yet, they also had to be a team themselves.  
And, low and behold, they _had_ talked. Even though it hadn't been a long conversation, it had been very meaningful.  
So now they were back at the beginning, with the task to restore their friendship. 

She had given them six to eight weeks to restore their friendship. And after that… it was 'war'! After she confessed her love for Harm to Sturgis, she had thought long and hard. She was not getting over Harm. Never would, she was sure. So there was only one other option. Being friends again was okay but only as a first step. She had made up her mind. Harm was hers and this time he was going to admit it as well.  
Meticulously she planned her moves. She even got some books from the library and bought a magazine because of the article about seduction it contained. Not that all tips were equally useful. Being a Marine she refused to play the helpless little girl. But on the other hand, asking his help on a computer problem she had caused herself by pressing a wrong combination of keys… hey, everyone in the office knew she disliked the technical side of computers. To her they were tools, tools which had to work.  
Next to that there were the touches. Innocent touches, like brushing her hand against his when they both were pouring a cup of coffee in the crammed kitchen. Standing just a tad too close in the elevator. After all, the elevator was crowded, wasn't it?  
And her appearance. Paying extra attention to her make-up. Wearing the perfume he loved. Showing up in a dress at their regular movie night. She smiled when she recalled that evening. His eyes had bulged when he opened the door, seeing her in a burgundy dress, just over the knee. She had twirled, showing him a bit more leg. She was sure he had blushed and he had asked whether he had forgotten a special occasion, but her only explanation had been she had felt like dressing up that evening. It really had been fun.  
She could see it worked. Slowly his defence crumbled. She reckoned it would take only a few gentle pushes for him to crack.  
She could see his longing. Especially when he thought she wasn't looking, she felt his eyes on her, never diverting. She felt him shiver under her oh so casual touches.  
But he didn't crack. She might need to increase the pressure. 

"Come in," Harm beckoned. They had planned an evening together, first to work out a deal and then watch a movie. He would cook and she was sure it would be one of her favourite meals. An evening like so many before.  
The food had been delicious. Like always when he cooked. She was lucky he took such a pride in cooking for her. After that they sat out to work.  
The deal plotted out enough to satisfy them both, Harm headed for the kitchen to make tea when the phone ran. While Harm went to pick it up, he asked Mac to make their drinks. It turned out to be his grandmother and fumbling around in his kitchen she listened to the conversation. Which was easy since the phone was on speaker.  
After the normal ´how do you dos´ and catching up, Grams had something different to ask. "Did you already tell her you love her?" she wanted to know.  
"Grams," Harm whined, knowing that Mac could hear every word.  
"What? It's the truth, isn't it? You do love her, don't you?"  
He didn't answer.  
"Harm?"  
Still silence.  
"Harmon Rabb Jr., I asked you a question. I expect an answer," came the firm voice from the other side of the line."  
"Yes I do, Grams," he finally said. Mac saw his shoulders slump.  
"Well, tell her then! I want to have a great-grandchild in my arms before I leave this world."  
After a few more words they said their goodbyes and Harm carefully, as if he was about to break, replaced the receiver. Then he stood, motionless.  
In the meantime Mac's heart felt it would pound out of her chest. He loved her. He did love her! It was like she was doing a happy dance while standing still behind him. She waited for him to turn around and say something. Surely he couldn't act like nothing had happened. He d*** well knew she heard every word.  
She took a deep breath. This was the moment to act. Slowly she walked over to him and placed his hand between his shoulder blades. "Harm, look at me."  
He didn't move.  
"Harm please, look at me."  
Still no motion, except for a curt shake of his head.  
"Harm, I need you to turn to me." She smiled. "I very much like to kiss you but I can't if you don't turn around."  
Ever so slowly he turned around but couldn't bring his eyes up to meet hers.  
Mac looked up at him and cupped his chin, forcing him to look at him.  
"I love you, too." She gave him a loving smile, now rubbing her hands up and down his chest.  
He looked at her as if he couldn't believe his ears.  
"I love you,' she repeated.  
Slowly he raised his hands and framed her face. She stood on her tiptoes and brushed her lips against his. "I love you," she said for a third time. Still no reaction.  
"You can kiss me back," she smiled.  
No words would form in his brain, so he simply leaned forward and did as ordered. When they parted he rested his forehead against hers and closed his eyes. To Mac's shock a tear ran down his cheek. She reached up to kiss it away, then pulled him tightly to her, pulling his head onto her shoulder.  
Minutes later he resurfaced . "I love you so much. I convinced myself I should consider myself lucky you wanted to be friends again but I couldn't stop loving you," he whispered hoarsely.  
His confession brought tears in Mac's eyes. "I love you," she again assured him. "When we decided to rebuilt our friendship I vowed to myself it would only the first step. This time I would get it right. This time we would end as lovers. Or more."  
"These weeks have been hell and heaven," Harm sighed. "I loved having our friendship back but then, when you started your … "  
"Offensive?" Mac offered.  
"Yes, offensive, I didn't know what to think. I started to hope en then told myself again it was hope against all hope." He shook his head, fighting his tears once more.  
"Why don't I show you?" she whispered seductively, looking at his bedroom. She wanted to pull him towards the steps but he didn't follow her. She looked at him, questioning. Till her surprise he blushed.  
"I love you and I want you. I will want that…" He tilted his head to the bedroom. "I want that too. Very soon. But ..." He bit his lip and looked at her helplessly "I just need a little more time to…"  
"To digest? Get used to the idea?" Mac asked.  
He nodded, relieved she seemed to understand.  
"Yes."  
She smiled warmly and caressed his cheek, pulling him in for a kiss. "Why don't I stay the night? No pressure. Nothing needs to happen now. But tomorrow I'll be there and you'll know it wasn't a dream."  
He heaved a sigh. "I would like that. Very much." 

Half an hour later they were in bed, Mac lying curled up against his chest, he playing with a strand of her hair. She felt all tension seep away from him and as he gave in to a bone deep exhaustion. I made her realize how enervating the past weeks had been for him. She turned her head slightly to kiss his chest. "I love you," she murmured. She felt his smile more than she saw it.  
"Don't forget to give me your grandmother's address in the morning. I want to send her something special for her help."  
He chuckled. "Will do that. I planned to visit her next weekend. Why don't you join me? She will love to meet my finance-to-be." 

The end


End file.
